These Bruins players made ESPN’s top 100 ranking for 2023-24 NHL season.
Despite many offseason departures, the Bruins are strongly represented.
The Boston Bruins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1 on opening night at TD Garden, as Michael Holley and Michael Felger discuss.
The Boston Bruins lost a lot of good players in the offseason, but they still have one of the best cores of any NHL team.
Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci both retired in the summer.
In June, Taylor Hall was traded.
In addition to Dmitry Orlov, Tyler Bertuzzi, Garnet Hathaway, Tomas Nosek, Connor Clifton, and others left in free agency.
The Bruins’ roster is still stacked with elite talent in spite of those departures.
Consider ESPN’s NHL Rank, a ranking of the top 100 athletes for the 2023โ24 season, if you need further proof. The ranking is based on input from ESPN broadcasters, reporters, analysts and editors.
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Five players from the Bruins made the list, and all of them ranked inside the top 50.
47.
G. Linus Ullmark.
43.
A. Hampus Lindholm, D.
- Brad Marchand, LW.
- Charlie McAvoy, D.
10.
John Pastrnak.
If you look at these rankings on a positional basis, the Bruins have the No. Right wing (Pastrnak, No. 3) ranked No. 4 and No. McAvoy and Lindholm, the No. 9 defensemen, are each the No. Marchand, the No. 7 left wing, and the No. 5 goalie (Ullmark).
Given the departures of Bergeron and Krejci in the offseason, center is the only position for the B’s that is unrepresented.
Five players from the Bruins and five from the Leafs are included in ESPN’s top 100. The only teams with more are the New Jersey Devils and Tampa Bay Lightning with six each.
Any Bruins members who were overlooked?
You could maybe make a case for backup goalie Jeremy Swayman, who is good enough to start on a lot of teams.
Swayman placed fourth overall among goalies last season in terms of both save percentage and GAA.
In a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators last Saturday, he made 33 saves to improve to 1-0 on the year.
Jake DeBrusk isn’t deserving of top 100 status right now, but if he stays healthy and hits the 30-goal mark for the first time this season, he could potentially make next year’s list.
The Bruins are 2-0-0 after wins against the Blackhawks and Predators.
They play the San Jose Sharks on Thursday to kick off a four-game road trip.